Downtown Kansas City can have a new federal office building and 1,200 employees, but under a different development plan than first envisioned.

A top General Services Administration official has given the Missouri congressional delegation the green light for the $175 million project — but only if the federal government owns it.

The plan that had been pitched locally since 2006 called for a building to be developed privately and leased to the GSA. The 430,000-square-foot project would be filled with federal workers moving from the Bannister Federal Complex in south Kansas City…

Peck’s letter is the latest twist in a political battle that has stalled President Barack Obama’s choice to lead the GSA. Bond has placed a hold on the appointment of Martha Johnson to apply pressure on behalf of the Kansas City project…

Bond’s office greeted Peck’s latest offer with caution, and the senator will continue to hold up the Johnson appointment until more information can be obtained.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) today called on the president to hold a confidential cabinet briefing on the topic of cybersecurity and to make the protection of federal data a top administrative and policy priority.

Wolf, whose office computers were compromised in August 2006, continues to express concern that not enough is being done to protect critical data.

“The continued vulnerability of computer and telecommunications networks remains the ‘Achilles’ heel’ of U.S. national security in the 21st century,” Wolf wrote in a letter dated today to President Obama. “I hope you will lead our executive agencies by demonstrating to your cabinet the seriousness with which you consider this issue.”